Descension
by Lord Zalgo
Summary: Small sequel to 'Aura'. A sendoff to an old fic, describing what happened to Aura during the Vytal Tournement at the end of RWBY Volume 3. Would he appear in the future of Ruby Rose and her friends... Or will he become a name without an owner?


All hell had broken loose. Aura moved his gaze around the campus of Beacon in complete shock as the smell of death filled the air. He had been invited to see the finals of the Vytal Tournament, only to be caught off-guard by the death of Penny Polendina and the White Fang making their move on Beacon.

Aura was surrounded by the sounds of people being slaughtered by the White Fang, the mechanical Atlesian army and the hordes of Grimm. Aura quickly looked at his Scroll, only to see that it was glitching and numerous names were appearing and disappearing. The destinies of many were changing within seconds. He couldn't tell who was destined to die, but he knew that everyone was dying anyway.

Aura knew that he wanted to help everyone, but two things were preventing him from doing so. One, he didn't know where all his friends were, and two, he knew that he lacked the power to combat all of the threats that surrounded him. Not knowing what else to do, Aura muttered an incantation and suddenly vanished.

* * *

In a burst of dark magic, Aura reappeared in the Overworld. Aura looked up to see the Powers That Be towering over him. They made use of three ethereal, humanoid avatars in order to converse with those other than themselves, but each one was easily half the size of Beacon Tower at least. Aura looked on with a determined expression.

"Reaper. What is it that has brought you before us?" One of the Powers asked. Aura turned his attention to the monolithic being before answering.

"Don't act like you don't know. People are dying in the Middlerealm! You can't turn a blind eye to this!" Aura exclaimed.

"We have made it our duty to not interfere with the actions of mortals. You know this. It extends to you too." The Power replied.

"But, people aren't destined to die! The Scroll's in flux! We have to do something! Allow me to do something!" Aura pleaded. The Powers remained silent for a moment.

"After centuries of service with no words against us, you decide that now is the moment to ask of us?" One of the Powers asked.

"I've never asked of anything from you before. Please, let me save as many people as I can down there!" Aura pleaded. The Powers' avatars looked at each other before looking down at the reaper.

"We can grant you this opportunity. But, in return, you must fulfil a request from us." The last Power informed. Aura gulped in nervousness as he nodded, signally the Power to continue speaking.

"What we wish, is that you forgo your humanity and become the ruler of the Underworld. Become the lord of the dead and guide the sinners into damnation." The Power explained. Aura slowly began to understand.

"And that's a full-time job. I won't be able to see my friends again." Aura replied, seeing through their ploy.

"Indeed. These bonds are unbecoming of a being such as yourself. But, would you rather let them die?" The Power asked, knowing full-well what the answer was. Aura collapsed to his knees as the colossal decision weighed on his being.

* * *

Everyone blanched as the Grimm Dragon screeched and flew around the area of Beacon, spawning more Grimm. Weiss, Sun, Ren and Nora tensed in horror as the Dragon began to turn and head straight for them, their fear only attracting it further. Their horror rooted them to the spot as the Dragon approached at high speeds, roaring as it did so. Suddenly, a burst of dark magic appeared before them and a being leapt from the burst and launched towards the Dragon. With a single kick to the bottom of its jaw, the Dragon completely changed flightpath to straight up. The Dragon let out a somewhat pained screeched before turning and righting itself. The being floated for a moment before looking down at the Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-training.

The being had black skin, almost like black stone, black hair with blood red highlights and glowing blood red eyes. He was wearing a black robe with highlights of red armour added at certain points. But other than that… he was the spitting image of Aura. He managed to make the Grimm Dragon fumble with just a kick, but in that moment… his friends couldn't tell what he was anymore. Aura felt despair run through him as the looks of fear and horror directed at him from his former friends cut through him.

Releasing a saddened breath, Aura turned his attention back to the Dragon, only to be caught off-guard and slammed with the Dragon's tail. Aura was then launched into a large mountain, near the one that the Grimm Dragon had emerged from. A blob of blood spat from Aura's mouth from the impact as he groaned in pain and disorientation before seeing the Dragon launching itself at him and the mountain. The Dragon broke through the entire mountain with complete ease, pushing Aura through the mountain with it and destroying it completely. With the mountain reduced to chunks of stone, Aura was stuck on the Dragon's snout, bruised, but no worse for wear.

Aura held onto the Dragon, only for it to suddenly change directions and head for Beacon Tower. Aura blanched at the change, but the moment of distraction allowed the Dragon to shake its head and open its mouth. Aura suddenly fell into the Dragon's mouth, slipping down its throat with ease. Aura began to slide down its throat as he scramble to pull out his dagger.

Unsheathing it, Aura plunged the dagger into the side of the Dragon's throat, slowing his fall to a slow and steady stop. Aura could hear the Dragon screeching in pain as he began to tap into more power. Aura began to ascend back up the Dragon's throat at a high speed until he was back in the creature's mouth, its jaw clenched shut. Aura decided not to decelerate as he rammed straight into one of the Dragon's teeth and broke right through it. The tooth shattered as the Dragon roared. Aura quickly flew up and punched the Dragon on the top of the snout, causing it to flinch from the strike.

Aura looked around to get his bearings, only to see that he was floating near the top of Beacon Tower. Where he saw Pyrrha Nikos be reduced to ash. Aura watched in horror. Frozen in place. Suddenly, the area was engulfed in a bright light and a young girl's pained scream. The light enveloped everything, including the Dragon and Aura himself and everything went white…

* * *

After Qrow left the room, Ruby was left with her thoughts. Thought of confusion, pain and loneliness. Ruby took a slow glance around the room until her eyes fell upon a letter that Qrow must have left behind with Ruby's name written on the front. Ruby slowly leaned over to her bedside table and picked up the letter to unseal it from its envelope. When she fully unfolded the letter, she began to read.

' _Ruby. If you're reading this letter, then you must have woken up at last. You don't know how happy that makes me. However… it saddens me that I can't be there myself. The Powers That Be have issued me with an inescapable responsibility. One that I cannot escape nor edit. I am to be the new ruler of the Underworld and tasked with watching over the souls of the dead and torturing the souls of the sinners. It… It's going to keep me very busy. …So busy that my visits to the Middlerealm may stop indefinitely. …Believe me. I wish it didn't have to be this way. To be away from you during the time you may need me the most. And for that, I'm sorry. A lot happened while you were sleeping, Ruby. I just want you to know that while I may not be there, others will be. I left this letter with your uncle, Qrow. I hope he delivered it to you. You can trust those around you. The world may seem darker now, but there is one light still shining within it. You. Don't lose that light, Ruby. Not just for you. But, for those who love you._

 _Wishing I were there,_

 _Your friend,_

 _Aura_ '

Ruby finally allowed more tears to fall from her eyes as she felt more alone than ever. The time she'd spent at Beacon was the happiest time of her life. Being able to fulfil her dram and meet irreplaceable people. But, within one day… it was all gone. Ruby finally understood how Aura felt, the day he was to die. To have lost so much in a single moment.

But, if he could go on… then so could she.


End file.
